Once the dust has settled from Thanos’ invasion, and the untitled Avengers 4 has come and gone, Marvel’s superhero franchise is expected to be rerouted towards a more expansive, cosmic universe, beginning with a sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Details of the studio’s Phase 4 remain locked away in the Marvel vaults for the time being though, and likely won’t be unveiled to the public until the fourth Avengers movie is out in the wild. And really, that’s okay.
Besides, common logic dictates that Homecoming 2 will be joined by a third Guardians film and maybe – just maybe – the standalone Black Widow movie that has already piqued our interest with its rumored plot, not to mention the possibility of Natasha Romanoff joining forces with the Winter Soldier. Now, how’s that for an MCU prequel pitch?
However, looking further afield, and Infinity War co-director Joe Russo has already expressed an interest in Marvel’s Secret Wars, a comic book arc which, on paper, appears to be the perfect follow-up act to Avengers 4. Still no word of an official response from Marvel Studios, but during a recent interview with CBR, the filmmaker identified which version he’d like to see get the big screen treatment.
Said he:
Hopefully they’re about to get their hands on a few of them. Listen, my second favorite character growing up, and one of my prized possessions in my comic book collection is Incredible Hulk #181, which of course is the first appearance of Wolverine. I feel like the mission of the Marvel Universe is to keep expanding and surprising people. Surprise them with casting choices, surprise them with story choices. If we’re moving into this world of crossover events, certainly that affords opportunity for other large-scale stories from the books like Secret Wars — which was another favorite comic of mine as a kid.
If nothing else, this is further proof that the Russo Brothers are keen to hang around the MCU once Disney’s acquisition of Fox falls into place. Such an Earth-shaking merger will, through time, allow the likes of Deadpool, X-Men and the Fantastic Four to cross over into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And you thought Infinity War was a crowded affair…